Serena’s POV
Usually, there was the constant hum of life here in the stables . hooves clopping against the ground, stable hands whistling, the rustle of hay being moved from one stall to another. Today, I heard almost nothing.
The only sound was my own boots pressing into the straw-strewn floor as I walked in. My steps were slow, careful, because the air felt… strange. Heavy.
I’d come to check on Ari’s pony. That was the only reason I was here. But the moment I stepped inside, I felt like I had stepped into something I wasn’t supposed to see.
The smell of hay and horse filled my nose, but there was another scent too. A faint mix of perfume and something more human sweat, maybe. Close contact. I couldn’t quite place it, but it tugged at something deep inside me.
I passed two empty sta
